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Licorice: The amount makes the poison
Photo: Patrick Sison / AP
Every day at least one bag of liquorice and that for weeks: US doctors report on a 54-year-old who apparently died as a result of his snacking behavior.
The man had collapsed in a fast food restaurant in the US state of Massachusetts, write his treating doctors in the journal "The New England Journal of Medicine".
He did not regain consciousness and died a short time later in the hospital.
At first, the doctors could not explain the sudden death of the construction worker.
Your patient had a rather unhealthy diet and smoked, but no heart problems.
However, the doctors found a glaring potassium deficiency, probably caused by the man's excessive consumption of liquorice.
Licorice contains glycyrrhizin, which is often used as a sweetener and, in high doses, can lead to nutrient loss, headaches and high blood pressure.
In the case of the 54-year-old, the plant extract from the roots of the liquorice plant very likely triggered the life-threatening potassium deficiency that led to cardiac arrest.
The case is absolutely rare, the doctors report.
Nevertheless, it is important to point out the dangers of excessive liquorice consumption.
In the past, other medical professionals had repeatedly warned of the life-threatening consequences of excessive consumption of glycyrrhizin.
In Montreal, Canada, a man suffered from extremely high blood pressure after drinking one or two glasses of licorice tea a day for two weeks.
Licorice is the basis of licorice.
How Much Licorice is Too Much?
Another potentially harmful component of licorice is ammonium chloride, which occurs naturally as salmiac and, in high doses, can cause nausea, vomiting, and neurological disorders.
If liquorice contains an increased amount of ammonium chloride, it must be labeled in Germany with the note "Adult liquorice".
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers two ounces of black liquorice, the equivalent of just under 60 grams, per day for two weeks to be questionable because it can cause cardiac arrhythmias.
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